Retailers feel the High Street blues

Britain's retailers could be facing a slow death, according to broadsheet The Independent.

Referring to the The Future of the High Street report, which was commissioned in 2011 as pressure mounted on the Government to address the issue, the newspaper commented that nearly two years on, the future of the high street seems bleaker than ever.

One in nine high street shops now stand empty as competition from online retailers remains fierce and consumer spending continues to be hampered by the poor economic climate.

Richard Dodds, from the British Retail Consortium, said: "There is a danger of being overly apocalyptic about what's going on with high streets. It certainly is the case that lots of our high streets are under pressure: one in nine of our high street shops are standing empty. The retail failings of recent weeks confirm that. But it is the case, still, that 43 per cent of all retail spending happens on the high street. High streets are still a very important part of our retail mix. They're going to go on to be significant, but there needs to be a lot of action and we need to intervene."